The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#160 - suddenly see the light

Chapter 160: A Sudden Realization

Even the female shopkeeper hadn't anticipated how swift the Vulture's actions would be.

The day after returning to the City Lord's mansion, rumors began circulating in the streets, claiming that Yazdan had been summoned to the council hall by the City Lord due to issues with last year's tax records, and subsequently apprehended by the guards stationed there.

However, he wasn't sent to the Council of Elders for trial. Instead, after a body search, he was confined to a well-appointed guest room within the palace, where he was treated with fine wine and delicacies.

Meanwhile, Lu Jing was collaborating with the female shopkeeper to investigate individuals who had left the city over twenty days prior.

Based on Lu Jing's conjecture that night, someone must have removed something from the ancient tomb, triggering this disaster.

The simplest approach was to identify anyone who had left Marasar Khan before the calamity struck.

In most places, such an investigation would be virtually impossible.

For a city, the daily influx and outflow of people likely numbered in the tens of thousands. Identifying someone who had visited the ancient tomb among them would be nearly impossible.

However, Marasar Khan's location in the Mingsha Desert effectively isolated it from the outside world. Only a few oasis cities maintained slight connections, and considering the harsh desert environment, caravans typically only traveled back and forth every six months.

Therefore, identifying someone who had left the city over twenty days ago wasn't too difficult.

Moreover, Lu Jing's current status as a hero made everything more convenient.

They quickly located the guards on duty, and with their cooperation, compiled a list of names, roughly two pages of parchment, of individuals who had left the city over twenty days prior.

Most of them had only been active around the city's outskirts.

Subsequently, Lu Jing first crossed out someone who had left the city alone.

While not impossible, given that person's influence in Marasar Khan, it wouldn't be necessary to take such a risk. After all, the desert was treacherous, and a single misstep into quicksand could leave one without anyone to pull them out.

Then, Lu Jing highlighted individuals who had left the city more than once in the recent past.

After continuous elimination, Yazdan's name prominently appeared on the list.

He had led people out of the city thirty days ago, approximately eighty days ago, and half a year ago. During the last trip half a year ago, he had taken about twenty guards, but fewer than ten returned, many bearing injuries.

Consequently, the city guards remembered it particularly clearly and inquired whether they should find a physician.

It was later discovered that Jasmine, the physician who frequently treated the City Lord's residence, was in the group, looking somewhat somber.

Then, he and the female shopkeeper hurried there. As soon as they arrived at the alley where Physician Jasmine lived, they found his front door wide open.

Lu Jing took the lead and rushed inside, only to find the place in disarray, as if it had just been robbed. Lu Jing rushed into the inner room and saw Jasmine and his wife lying in pools of blood.

They had been dead for at least half an hour.

In other words, the assassins arrived just as Lu Jing and Nada went to find the gate guards.

Upon seeing this, the female shopkeeper couldn't help but gasp. "Is Yazdan being forced into a corner? He dares to commit murder and silence witnesses in broad daylight. Is he afraid of the exposure of his search for the ancient tomb?"

"If he were afraid of exposing the search for the ancient tomb, he should have killed Jasmine long ago, instead of dragging it out until now," Lu Jing shook his head.

"Moreover, isn't he already under house arrest? Logically, he shouldn't be able to react so quickly."

"Then who killed them?" Nada asked.

Unfortunately, Jasmine's body, already growing cold, couldn't answer her question.

Fortunately, Lu Jing knew where else to find answers.

"Go to the pharmacy," Lu Jing said. "I just saw that Physician Jasmine's home didn't have a place to store herbs, so he must have obtained medicine from nearby pharmacies to treat patients."

After a pause, Lu Jing continued to explain, "It's understandable for Yazdan to take guards out of the city, but taking a physician is too unusual. To treat knife wounds, it's enough to bring the corresponding herbs and tools. There's no need to bring the physician himself. I want to see who Jasmine has treated and what medicine he has prescribed recently."

"Let's go now. The killer probably hasn't thought of this," Nada said.

So, they rushed to the pharmacy across the street. The good news was that it was still safe and sound, as Lu Jing had said.

However, the female shopkeeper was still uneasy because the previous events indicated that she and Lu Jing were being targeted. Their every move seemed to be known by the other side.

It was as if an eye was watching them in the dark.

Fortunately, Lu Jing seemed calm and, once again leveraging his high reputation in the city, easily obtained a ledger that ordinary customers couldn't see.

It specifically recorded Physician Jasmine's recent medication usage.

Lu Jing and the female shopkeeper naturally couldn't understand the heap of herb names, so after casually flipping through the ledger, they directly asked the pharmacist.

"What are these herbs used for? Are there any that are particularly special?"

The pharmacist paused, "Well, most are used to treat minor ailments. To say what's special… in the last half year, he has requested a lot of herbs… for life support."

"For life support?"

The pharmacist nodded, "A few months ago, he also asked me about a rare herb that only grows on quicksand. It's very rare. I didn't have it here, so he probably went out of the city to find it later. I don't know if he found it."

Lu Jing suddenly thought of something, "Then last week, besides the life-sustaining medicine, what else did he get from you?"

"He didn't get medicine from me. He got some spices."

"Spices?" Lu Jing's expression changed slightly, then he asked, "Jasmine has always been responsible for treating the City Lord's residence. Is the medicine supplied to the City Lord's residence also obtained from here?"

The pharmacist nodded again, proudly, "My pharmacy is the largest in the city, with the most complete and best-quality medicines. The City Lord's residence used to store some medicine themselves, but it would spoil. Later, they found it troublesome and directly got it from me. I also reserve the best quality for them."

"I understand," Lu Jing felt a sudden realization.

However, the female shopkeeper was still somewhat bewildered, seemingly not understanding what Lu Jing had realized.

Then, Lu Jing said to her, "I know who caused this disaster. I was almost deceived by him and the Shrike before."